ACC Q4 profit rises over 2-fold to Rs 206 crore

Cement maker ACC Ltd today reported over two-fold rise in consolidated profit at Rs 205.69 crore for the quarter ended December 2017.
The company had posted consolidated profit of Rs 90.92 crore in the year-ago period, ACC Ltd said in a BSE filing.
The consolidated total income of the company during October-December quarter increased to Rs 3,540.24 crore, over Rs 3,102.42 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.
"ACC registered revenue growth across categories and geographies with an increased focus on premium products and a targeted approach to customers and markets, delivering strong top-line growth," the company's managing director and CEO Neeraj Akhoury said in a statement.

ACC's strategy, he said, remains focused on fundamental value drivers which reflects the company's priorities to support its customers and deliver attractive returns for its shareholders.
"We will continue to focus on cost improvements, profitable revenue growth and innovations that create new value," Akhoury said.

The cement business of the company grew volumes by 27 per cent during the quarter on year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis, as a result of a stronger focus on premium products and improved customer service levels, despite challenges such as sand availability constraints and subdued urban housing trends due to RERA compliance, the statement said.
The company's ready mixed concrete sales volumes grew substantially by 19 per cent during the quarter.

The board recommended payment of final dividend at Rs 15 per share of Rs 10 aggregating to Rs 339.02 crore.
On the outlook, the company said that "the announcements in the budget 2018 indicate the government's thrust on infrastructure development...The significant increase in the budgetary outlay for infrastructure devlopment..., the investment in smarter cities and a sharper focus on affordable housing segment is expected to drive the growth during 2018.